Survey: Why Do Diasporans Send Money Home?

December 18 2015

AAI is collecting information on how Africans in the Diaspora send remittances to family members in their home country.

Remittances from Africans in the Diaspora are helping to reduce poverty and boost prosperity in individual households throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Worldwide, Diasporans sent home to their relatives nearly $33 billion in remittances in 2014, exceeding official development assistance.

African Diasporans pay more to send money to their home countries compared to other Diaspora groups worldwide — in some cases twice the global average, according to the World Bank. South Africa, Tanzania, and Ghana are the most expensive sending countries in Africa, with fees averaging 20.7 percent, 19.7 percent, and 19.0 percent.